I'll agree that there is lots of good advice, and I'll specifically second mandalinn's post.

I have not given up grains but and generally have at all 3 main meals but they are always whole grain, carefully measured portions - and by portion, I am not referring to the so called standard serving size, usually it's about 100-150 calories worth of a grain or other starchy carb.

The other question is whether you weigh/meaure your food - I noticed your sample menu gave ounces, etc. but wasn't sure if that was based on a food scale or if you are estimating.

I could not survive on this little food. Looks like you aren't even getting one serving of vegetables when you need 4-5 a day. I think angels suggestions are great btw :)

Thanks, everyone! So, I bought carrots and broccoli yesterday and had scrambled egg for breakfast instead of cereal. I'm going to slo-o-o-o-o-o-owly start moving things around in my diet and hopefully that will make a difference. The *amount* of food isn't the issue with me...when I was doing Weight Watchers, my daily target was 28 points and what I eat every day falls around that number, and I feel full, so I'm not worried about eating too little. I do know that my diet needs to change, though.

Frances - vegetables! Where are the vegetables? You can at least find a leaf of lettuce to put on that sandwich can't you? ;)

Add some chopped salad to that lunch, and steam or saute a couple of cups of broccoli or asparagus or peas or brussels sprouts or string beans or cauliflower or carrots or okra or anything else you can think of with that dinner, and you'll feel more satisfied for basically the same number of calories and a WHOLE LOT more nutrients.

I've been taking Michael Pollan's advice to heart: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables."

"Eat Food" means start with real identifiable ingredients and combine them to make your meals. With that in mind I'd kill the fiber bars - save them for an absolute last-resort on-the-go snack when some Real Food isn't immediately available.

I'd also, personally, lose the pita chips and replace them with two more ounces of turkey. Again, same calories but much more useful nutrients to keep your body going. Turkey is closer to the "Eat Food" philosophy than pita chips, to my mind.

And finally, "mostly vegetables." Start by adding a few vegetables. Then fall in love with them and add more and more until they take up the most space on your plate.

I can cook a whole pound of a (fresh or frozen) vegetable in just one tablespoon of olive oil and eat half of that with my dinner. It's a huge pile of food, crunchy and satisfying to eat, for maybe 70 or 80 calories packed with nutrients, fiber, and a touch of healthy fat. Do yourself the favor of eating vegetables! You'll get to enjoy big tasty delicious meals that really are good for you too.

Green Giant has boxes of frozen veggies. You pull the bag out of the box and put it in the microwave (some you do have to poke a hole in the bag). *poof* veggies ready to eat! I add a box to my lunch and I add a box to dinner for me and my hubby.

I do cook veggies when I have the chance, but the "place bag in microwave" frozen veggies have been a real life altering discovery for me! Lol!

Some of the boxes have a cheese or butter sauce. I have those on occassion - but they have trans fats and MSG, so I try to aviod them most days.

Those steaming ziplock style bags are great too. You can make your own microwave bags yourself from raw veggies. I cut up veggies for lunch fill up a baggie and then pop it in the microwave for lunch at work. Works great and an easy way to ge the veggies in.

~GASP!~ I didn't KNOW that Ziploc MADE bags for steaming...??? OMG - I could buy cheaper frozen veggies and toss them in there. I could microwave everything and never have dishes to clean!!

THANK YOU!

I wonder if Big Y/Stop and Shop has a store brand version...

~SQUEAL!~

They have recipies...

http://www.ziploc.com/Recipes/Pages/RecipesHome.aspx

Wow, I didn't know they had a recipe section. Cool.

I've seen store brands also. and your'e right. Sometimes at lunch I just eat straight from the bag. It has a pleated bottom and stands up nicely. It comes in 2 sizes so just be sure to get the smaller one. The big one would probably be too bulky to try to eat out of.

Sarah

I love the steamer bags! I steam bags of peas all the time- use half with dinner then the other half with lunch :D

Try hitting the 5 healthy guidelines WW has as far as food is concerned :)

You are also working out a lot....which isn't bad but if you go from not working out to the schedule you are keeping from your OP it may be the culprit with your weight staying put.

Other than that I think everyone pretty much covered it ;)

I guess you've hit the weight loss plateau. The reason is that the body works hard to maintain energy intake and output in balance. In short, the body does not like to lose weight. At your initial weight loss, you can see progression but this will slow down and eventually stop even though your exercise and food intake is consistent. The bottom line is, your efforts to burn more calories will eventually slow down.

I will tell you that a few years ago, I was goin to the gym 5 days a week, slammimg cardio on the elliptical 45 min or more and doin power yoga 3 to four days a week, and doin weight training... I was eating a low cal low fat diet... I never lost weight!!! I am insulin resistant and the only way for me to loose is to cut the carbs!!! We have cut out all sugar and anything that turns to sugar... We are following Atkins to the letter and it is working!! My daughter has lost 20 and I have lost almost 14 in 3 1/2 weeks... Now that being said, I don't think it works as good for everyone, it depends on your body... But if you have never tried, you might want to pick up a book and see...

My friend does weight watchers and even with her allowed points she eats alot of carbs, and if they are your problem, that could be why you are not losing...

LOL- as an aside I can answer this. It is a myth that the appendix serves no purpose. At least one function of the appendix is to "reboot" the intestines after a bad illness. There is bacteria that live in our intestines that we receive many benefits from, but some illnesses totally wipe them out. The appendix has a sort of dead end on it that acts as a storage place from some of the bacteria - they ride out the illness there and when the illness is gone the bacteria leave the appendix to repopulate the intestines.

Science nugget of the day. :)

Am I the only one who noticed that the OP (Frances) said

No one has mentioned (or if they did, I missed it!) that she may be gaining MUSCLE weight while LOSING fat weight, and therefore the scale isn't being friendly, but she's LOST ONE SIZE in shirts. This means she's losing INCHES. And yes, that in itself is a success!

...just thought I'd point that out... ;) :D